VHP Photo Glossary: Pahoehoe lava

Photograph by J.D. Griggs on 16 July 1990

Pahoehoe

Pahoehoe is a Hawaiian term for basaltic lava that has a smooth,
hummocky, or ropy surface. A pahoehoe flow typically
advances as a series of small lobes and toes that continually
break out from a cooled crust. The surface texture of
pahoehoe flows varies widely, displaying all kinds of
bizarre shapes often referred to as lava sculpture
(see pahoehoe terms below).

Image: Toes of a pahoehoe flow advance across a road in Kalapana
on the east rift zone of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i.